Ghaziabad's bungalow of lies: Morphed Modi photos, high-end cars; inside fake diplomat Harshvardhan Jain’s lavish KB-45 mansion

GHAZIABAD: A man who plucked out from obscurity names of micronations like Westarctica and Ladonia and declared himself their ambassador was arrested on Wednesday by the Noida unit of UP's special task force from his 'embassy' in Ghaziabad.Harshvardhan Jain's portfolio of gobbledegook included calling himself a diplomat from Seborga and Paulovia. He apparently found takers for this tripe, enabling the 47-year-old to perpetuate a fraud that went on for nine years. He bestowed on himself the titles of 'Honorary Consul Baron Westarctica', engraved on the number plate of a Merc found parked on the premises, and 'Honorary Consigliere Principato Di Seborga', which adorned the blue diplomatic plate of a Hyundai Sonata.Fake country stamps, passports, four cars with diplomatic registration plates, and foreign currency were recovered from the lavish Kavi Nagar bungalow that Jain rented six months ago for Rs 1.8 lakh per month. Police also found two forged press cards, indicating the 'diplomat' and 'baron' may also have pretended to be a journalist. Jain, according to police, was born into a wealthy family and got an MBA from a London college. The 'embassy' was allegedly the front for a hawala racket he ran.Special superintendent of police (STF) Sushil Ghule said central agencies were on the lookout for Jain, but it was an anonymous tipoff that took the STF to bungalow number KB-45 in Kavi Nagar at 10pm on Tuesday. Over the next seven hours — the raid continued till 3pm on Wednesday — the team scanned and seized volumes of documents, allegedly linked to an elaborate job scam and the hawala money network.“Jain had morphed photos to show him in the company of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former President APJ Abdul Kalam. He had padded the house with flags of foreign nations. The cars parked in front embellished the appearance of the house as an important compound.”SP (Noida STF) Raj Kumar Mishra told TOI that during interrogation, Jain claimed that he was appointed an adviser to the ‘principality of Seborga’, which is a self-proclaimed principality in the Italian riviera, in 2012.He also claimed that in 2016, the Grand Duchy of Westarctica — another micronation in western Antarctica — appointed him honorary ambassador. Jain made similar claims for Ladonia, a micronation in Sweden, and Paulovia, which seems to be a name cooked up by him.Micronations, to be clear, are not sovereign countries and aren’t recognised entities. Micronations are distinct from microstates, such as Liechtenstein or Vatican City, whose sovereignty over extremely small territories and populations is internationally recognised.According to investigators, Jain started to operate his ‘embassy’ from his parents’ property — bungalow number KB-35 — in the same colony in 2016. “For nine years, he operated out of this house before shifting to KB-45, which is owned by a person called Sushil Kumar,” Mishra said, adding cops were yet to ascertain how many people Jain may have cheated during this period and what his exact modus operandi was.“He used the fake designations to draw people into conversations and gradually offered them jobs in foreign companies. He would later charge them by offering help to open overseas bank accounts or purchase properties. We are investigating his connections with gangsters abroad,” Mishra added. The STF indicated he had contacts abroad, but it’s yet to be ascertained how many people, if he indeed did, send abroad.The STF found in his possession 18 fake diplomatic number plates, 12 forged diplomatic passports from these micronations, fake documents carrying the seal of the foreign ministry, two forged PAN cards and 34 rubber stamps of various countries and organisations. “We also found Rs 44 lakh in cash, assorted foreign currencies, and 12 imported luxury watches,” Ghule said.An FIR has been registered against Jain at Kavi Nagar police station under BNS Sections 318 (4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 336 (3) (forgery for purpose of cheating), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.) and 340 (2) (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record). He was sent to police custody by a local court.